


Coffee Shop AU

by kirasnotalizard



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 19:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20159020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirasnotalizard/pseuds/kirasnotalizard
Summary: Tilly started work at Roni's Coffee Shop and meets Margot.Where will their new found friendship (or is it more?) end up?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Will probably be a short multi-chapter story :)  
Enjoy

“You’re late…”   
Margot’s eyes shot up from the apron she was currently tying around her waist. Even from across the café she could see the annoyed expression on her aunt Roni’s face. She quickly finished tying the apron and rounded the counter to start on her morning duties.  
“In my defense,” Margot held her arms up, “It’s been a hell of a morning…cut me some slack this one time?” She threw her aunt a pouty face while filling the coffee maker to her right.  
Roni threw her a disapproving look. “You live upstairs, dear. I’m not sure you’re entitled to some slack…”   
Margot grinned and was about to reply when she heard a loud crash come from the back kitchen, promptly followed by soft curses.   
Her eyebrows shot up as she looked back at her aunt. “Sounds like I’m not the only one who’s having a bad morning…”   
Roni sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Had you been here on time, you’d have met Tilly already. Today is her first day.” Roni eyed the kitchen door. “Can you please check on her while I open up?”  
Margot quickly finished up what she was doing and ran back to the kitchen. The first thing she laid eyes on was a tray of muffins on the floor. In fact, the whole kitchen was in disarray. There were dirty dishes and utensils covering the countertops, and the floor looked like a flour bomb had gone off. Directly behind that was a woman in black and white houndstooth chef pants and a white chef coat bent over the sink, her right arm plunged into the water spraying out of the tap.   
“Shit! I’m really sorry Roni!” The woman exclaimed-and in a rather adorable British accent-Margot thought. “I’ll be more careful next time!” She stood up, turned around and stopped dead in her tracks. “You’re not Roni.” The girl squeaked out. She didn’t seem upset at the realization, but rather dumbstruck.   
Margot chuckled. “No, I’m not.” She handed Tilly a cloth towel to dry her hands on, and also took the time to look her new coworker over. Her new CUTE coworker. Her uniform was neatly pressed, but it seemed to be the only thing organized about her. The kitchen was in more disarray than she had ever seen before. Her curly blonde hair was so wild it was sticking out in every direction under her bandana, rendering it almost useless. The front of her apron was covered in what looked like flour, batter, and blueberries maybe? She also spotted a bit of it on her face but was too distracted by how blue her eyes were to really think about much else….   
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Um, hi.” She cleared her throat and stuck out her hand. “Margot. Roni’s second in command. And niece.”   
Tilly must have been spending the few seconds of silence eyeing her as well because she was still standing there holding the towel in her wet hands. Finally, her eyes fluttered, and she snapped to attention. “Oh, um, yes.” She quickly dried her hands to shake Margot’s. “Tilly.” She smiled brightly. “Pleased to meet you.”  
Margot took the brief contact to discreetly look Tilly over again. This time, what caught her eye was the angry welt of a burn across her forearm.   
“Oh, god. That doesn’t look too good.” Margot turned her arm, getting a better view of the burn.   
Tilly winced, but didn’t retract her arm. “Of course, my first day on the job and I burn myself.” She shrugged, dismissing the thoughts in her head. “I always stuff things up.” Tilly’s expression soured and her eyes dropped to the floor.  
Margot didn’t really quite understand what had happened, but she did know the sad expression on Tilly’s face was physically hurting her to see. Margot placed a finger under Tilly’s chin, causing her to look up into Margot’s bright green eyes.   
“I can guarantee that I’m speaking for both my aunt and myself when I say our main priority is to make sure that you’re okay.” Margot slowly stated. She watched the expression in Tilly’s eyes change. She also noted how they had started to glaze over slightly. She decided to put a mental pin in that and come back to that thought later.  
Priorities, West. Priorities.  
Margot swallowed thickly, trying not to think about how close together they were standing, or how soft Tilly’s skin felt. “So…” she whispered, and dropped her hand from Tilly’s face to hold the hand she had shook moments before. She then turned Tilly’s arm again. She squeezed Tilly’s hand, focusing both of their attentions to her burned arm. “Are you okay? Do you need burn cream?” Margot took the time to look from the burn to Tilly’s face. Tilly’s eyes were lazer-focused on their joined hands.  
Put a pin in that too, West. This isn’t the time.  
“Or an ice pack? Ibuprofen?” When Tilly had yet to answer her, or show any signs at all that she had even heard anything she had said, Margot decided to change tactics. She dropped the hand in hers to retrieve the cell phone from her back pocket. She quickly unlocked the screen and started to dial before she stopped and looked up at Tilly again. “How about an ambulance? I’ll call right now.”  
Tilly’s eyes finally looked up, a puzzled expression on her face. “What? No! I’m fine!” She stepped forward to grab Margot’s phone, but she had pulled away before Tilly could reach it. The fast motion of reaching out without purchase left her on uneven footing, causing her to lose her balance and tumble right into Margot’s arms. The action not only shocked them, but rendered the both of them speechless for a moment.  
“Falling for me already?”   
It was Margot who spoke up first, letting the first thing that came to her mind spill from her lips.  
Smooth…real smooth…NOT.  
If it wasn’t for Tilly instantly turning beet red after the statement, Margot would almost be offended that she had burst into a fit of laughter at the question.  
“I’m sorry. Really, I am.” Tilly stood with her hands up in a state of surrender. “This has been a mess of a morning.” She said, fighting the urge to start laughing again.   
Margot grinned, and let out a bit of a chuckle herself. “It really has.” She looked at Tilly again. “Speaking of messes,” She lifted her hand to Tilly’s cheek, effectively wiping off the batter there in one fell swoop. If she weren’t so focused on that she wouldn’t have missed the slight flutter of Tilly’s eyes at the contact. “Dare I ask how you managed to get batter on your face?” She looked past Tilly at the disastrous kitchen behind her. “And over almost everything in the kitchen?” She let out another brief chuckle.  
Tilly playfully swatted at Margot’s arm, and looked at her with a fake hurt expression plastered onto her face. “Oh, shut up!” She smiled. “Don’t you have a job to do?”   
“She does.” Came a voice from the doorway.   
Both women jumped at the intrusion. Margot whipped her head over to the door to see Roni casually leaning on the doorframe. She could tell Roni was still a little aggravated by her tardiness this morning but she had no idea why there was a playful twinkle in her eyes.  
Tilly wrung the towel in her hands and gave Roni a sheepish grin. “Sorry, Roni. It won’t happen again. I promise, I’ll be on my best behavior!”   
Roni pushed away from the doorframe and gave a curt nod to Tilly before turning on her heel and muttering loud enough for both women to hear. “You’re not the one I’m worried about.”  
Margot rolled her eyes before sneaking one last glance at Tilly before heading out the door. When their eyes met, she couldn’t help but smile widely at her. “I, uh, gotta go.” Margot pointed behind her. “Can you please try and be a little more careful?”   
The sincerity in her voice left Tilly with a large lump in her throat. She held up three fingers. “Scouts honor.”   
Margot chuckled before walking back to the front of the shop. For the second time in moments, she caught her aunt staring at her with those eyes again.  
“How long were you standing there listening to us?” Margot asked, trying to pass the question off laced with indifference but judging by the look on her aunt’s face, it definitely didn’t come out as intended.  
Roni grinned back at her niece. “Just get back to work, Casanova.”  
Margot rolled her eyes and was about to reply when the bell on the door signaled a customer had arrived.   
It’s going to be a long day…


	2. The begging

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've changed the chapter number to four total. Might change, but if it does, it'll probably go up in numbers :)

Roni looked up from the table and glanced at Sabine before trailing her eyes over to the kitchen door. Even through the closed door, loud laughter and playful conversation could be heard. Weeks had gone by since Tilly had started, and it seemed like she and Margot had been spending quite a lot of time together.  
Roni put the money down she was counting and sighed. She didn’t really mind the excessive noise coming from the kitchen. Hell, she didn’t really mind that she was counting the drawer, even if it was one of Margot’s duties at the end of the night. What she did mind was the fact that the two lovebirds cleaning up another one of Tilly’s messes were absolutely clueless as to how the other felt.   
Sabine sauntered over to Roni and leaned across the opposite side of the table.   
“You think they’ll ever figure out how perfect they are for each other?” Sabine whispered, winking at Roni when she caught her eye.  
Roni snorted. “No!” She closed her eyes and lowered her voice. “With a little push? Maybe…”  
The short stop in their conversation filled the room with silence.  
Wait.   
Both Roni and Sabine lifted their eyes towards the kitchen. The usual cacophony of sounds coming from the kitchen had stopped, including Margot and Tilly’s idle chatter.  
Sabine tip-toed around the table and grabbed Roni’s hand, lifting her from her seat. She held up a finger to her lips, silencing the question Roni was about to ask. Sabine led them across the café floor towards the kitchen door. When they got there, Roni took the lead and slowly opened the door a crack, just enough for the both of them to peek inside.  
The crack in the door revealed quite the scene. Margot had taken off her blue and white plaid button-up and laid it across the table behind her. Now dressed in just her grey undershirt and tight-fitting low-rise jeans, Margot was diligently scrubbing a door of the oven in front of her. The effort being put into cleaning the oven’s window not only showed off the defined upper body muscles now bare and on display but also caused her already short undershirt to ride up, exposing a rather thick strip of skin across her lower back. From across the kitchen, Tilly could be seen openly gaping at Margot. Her hands, still on auto-pilot, scrubbed the same spot on the pan in front of her over and over.  
The scene was so comical it almost caused the both of them to laugh out loud. For a moment, both women stood there with shit-eating grins plastered on their faces.  
Sabine decided to take the matter into her own hands and opened the door wider. The sight caught Tilly’s eyes and had spooked her out of her Margot-induced hypnosis. As her body whipped around, letting her see the intruders walking in on her staring contest, the pot slipped from her hands, causing it to clatter to the ground. The noise of the pot hitting the ground startled Margot, making her to jump. Her tall stature caused her head to hit the top of the oven rather loudly.  
“Ow, shit!” Margot exclaimed. She quickly dropped the scrubber and palmed the top of her head.  
Both Sabine and Roni had gasped at the events playing out in front of them.

Tilly, now sporting a deep red blush, rushed over to Margot. “Oh, god. I’m so sorry, are you okay?” she said quickly.   
Sabine rushed to Margot’s side as well, bending down to look into her eyes. “Sorry about that.” She told Margot, then looked up at Tilly. “Guess I should knock next time.” She said, then winked. The action caused Tilly to blush more, and to hide her face she busied herself making a cold pack to put on Margot’s head.  
Margot groaned and spat out “Didn’t your shift end an hour ago?” before taking the cold pack handed to her.   
This time it was Roni who stepped in. “Had you finished counting the till like I’d asked you to, we’d have been long gone by now.” Her words were meant to sound harsh but the glint in her eyes made it quite obvious there was no bite in her bark.  
Even through gritted teeth, Margot replied. “Hey, head injury here. Can we talk about this later?” One hand was now holding the pack on the top of her head. The other had managed to snake its way into Tilly’s free hand, now easily accessible while she was crouched down next to her.  
Roni made her way into the kitchen and lifted the pack from her head. There was no blood, but there was a visible bump forming where she had clearly hit her head. “Oh, yes. That does look rather bad.” She said, rather over-the-top, looking to Sabine for help. Sabine let out a belly laugh before clamping her hand over her mouth. The sight could only be seen by Tilly, who scowled at them both, unaware of the reasoning behind their obvious theatrics.  
“Yes, thank you. Laugh at my misfortune.” Margot whimpered; her eyes closed in obvious pain.  
Roni and Sabine exchanged glances. Neither had planned that the night would go this direction, but they both knew they could use it to their benefit. Or, rather, Margot and Tilly’s benefit.  
“Do you know what I think?” Sabine chirped. “I think Roni and I will finish up…” Roni stared daggers at Sabine. “-and Tilly. Why don’t you take Margot up to her apartment?” Finally seeing where she was going with this, Roni gave her a smirk.  
Margot’s eyes snapped open and widely started in their direction. By the looks on their faces, they knew exactly what they’d just done.  
Those little colluders…  
“No, I’ll be okay, promise.” Margot quickly rushed out.   
Tilly stood and held out her hand again for Margot. “I insist.” Tilly spoke softly, her eyes glued to Margot’s. “It’s the least I could do.” She said honestly.  
Margot took Tilly’s waiting hand and slowly lifted herself to a standing position. “Thanks.” Margot shifted on her feet slightly and brought Tilly in for a hug, leaving Tilly’s back facing Roni and Sabine. With Tilly none the wiser, Margot took the opportunity to stare daggers at her aunt and friend while Roni grinned back and Sabine chose to make silent kissy faces back in their direction.


	3. Chapter 3

Margot steps out of the back room and eyes the kitchen door cautiously before making her way to the register, bypassing Roni without as much as a hello. Her usual bubbly early-bird morning façade is replaced with silence and a slight scowl etched into her face.   
Roni watches her for a moment. “Well, hello to you too…” She says, sarcastically.  
Margot glances in her direction for a second before going back to her work.  
Roni sets the last of the chairs in place before speaking again. “I take it you’re still in pain?” She waits for an answer for a beat, but Margot remains silent. “Or did something happen last night?” Concern laces her words this time. She’s not sure how last night could have taken a turn for the worse. She knows she’s not wrong about either woman’s feelings for the other.  
Margot sends an angry glare at her as an answer, and Roni takes the hint. Whatever happened the night before was not something Margot was willing to talk about right now. She’d just have to wait for answers until later. She begins brewing the house coffee when the back-door slams shut, nearly scaring her out of her skin.   
Tilly appears moments later, looking a bit more disheveled than usual. She stops a moment to try and catch her breath before looking at Roni. “I’m so sorry I’m late.” She says between big gulps of air. “I forgot to set my alarm, and it was really late when I got home and-”  
“It’s okay, Tilly.” Roni butts in. “But please try and not make it a habit.”  
Tilly stands up straight and holds her pinky in the air. “Pinky swear I won’t.” She smiles as Roni mimics the action from across the shop. Her eyes travel towards Margot, who seems to be busying herself with just about anything to avoid catching the blonde’s eyes. The smile from moments ago quickly vanishes. Tilly takes one more moment to take a deep breath before walking to the kitchen, not glancing in Margot’s direction again.  
Now, Roni’s sure something between them had happened the night before. Something she wasn’t expecting. Quite the opposite actually. She came in this morning thinking she’d finally given her niece an opening to at least ask Tilly out. She had expected the two to be making heart-eyes at each other, like usual. Possibly even something more. But she had definitely not expected both of them to be giving each other the cold shoulder. Not even a hello was exchanged…  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Margot clutches the cold pack, firmly keeping it in place on the top of her head. The other hand slides along the railing as she and Tilly make their way up to Margot’s loft.   
This was definitely not the way Margot had figured the night would go. And this is certainly not the reason she thought she’d have Tilly over for the first time.  
She’d spent the last few weeks since meeting Tilly trying to figure her out. She was fun and funny, smart, creative, honest, humble, and absolutely beautiful. Margot could count on one hand how many shifts she’d worked without Tilly. The two spent most of their shifts talking and laughing, genuinely enjoying each other’s company. But there was one thing that Margot just couldn’t figure out. And that was if Tilly just saw her as a friend or if she felt the same way. There were some instances where Margot could swear that Tilly was flirting, or her eyes lingered for a little too long to be innocent. But Margot chalked it up to wishful thinking on her part. She didn’t want to misread the situation and end up losing Tilly as a friend because of her school-girl crush. She could already tell she wanted Tilly to be a part of her life, for as long as she’d have her, and if that meant burying her not-so-innocent feelings for the other woman deep down, then so be it.  
When they got to the door, Margot fished out the keys from her pocket and made to unlock the door, but Tilly quickly grabbed the keys from her and finished the job.  
Before turning the knob, Tilly looked towards Margot, their faces inches apart. “I really am sorry, Margot. I didn’t mean-“  
Margot cut her off. “Please, don’t worry about it. It was an accident, Tils.” The nickname brought a sheepish grin to Tilly’s face, just like it always did. Margot liked to think that she adopted the nickname out of habit, but she really liked seeing Tilly’s eyes light up just like they were doing right now.  
Tilly’s eyes slid to the floor, then the door as she opened it, leading both of them through the entryway. Her eyes were met with the homey, luxurious décor of the taller woman. The soft greens of the walls and accent rugs were met with muted greys of the plush furniture, and framed by the natural woods of the tables and molding. The earthy ambiance of the room and the elongated windows on the opposite wall made it feel more outdoors than in. Tilly couldn’t have told you what she pictured Margot’s place would look like, but glancing around the living area, she couldn’t have pictured anything else.   
“Sorry. The place is a bit of a mess…” Margot blurt out while picking up a maroon cardigan from the back of the couch and hanging it up on the already full coat rack by the door.   
Tilly almost scoffed out loud. The place was cleaner than her apartment had ever been. From her viewpoint she could maybe make out a dish or two by the sink, and there was paperwork and notebooks scattered on the coffee table next to a laptop. Everything else seemed like it was perfectly in place.  
“Are you kidding?” Tilly replied, awestruck. She made her way across the living room, taking the entire space in. She glanced at the pictures hung on the wall of Margot and her family and friends. There were a few drawings that caught her eye as well. “If this is messy, I wonder what you’d call mine…”  
Margot snorted, and grinned at the blonde when the girl stuck her tongue out at her. “Hey, I’m sure its not as bad as you’d think.” When Tilly shot her another disbelieving look, Margot smiled. “Maybe some day you’ll invite me over and I’ll see for myself…”   
At that comment, Tilly’s mouth dried instantly. All the playful quips she had thought up vanished in an instant, and once again, daydreams of leading Margot across her apartment and into her bedroom showed up instead. She knew she should say something back, but the proverbial cat got her tongue.   
Margot misread the situation and took the silence in the room as Tilly subtly shooting that idea down. She quickly tried to reel back her statement to take charge of the situation. “I-I just meant that I’m sure your place is great! Like, it just probably looks different to you. You know, like because you see it all the time, and-“ Margot knew she was babbling, and she couldn’t tell what was making her feel more sick, the head wound she’d inflicted, or the fact that she was making an ass out of herself right now. “Wow, I am talking your head off…” She chuckled nervously and sat down on the couch. When she glanced in Tilly’s direction, she noticed the slightly pink tint of her cheeks as she stared in the general direction of the kitchenette.  
Margot’s mind sprung into action. “Oh my god, where are my manners? Can I get you anything to drink? Tea? Wat-“ Her words were cut off by an instantaneous wave of nausea and dizziness when she sprung up from the couch to head towards the kitchen. “Ugh…” Her hands instinctively shot out, grounding her to the back of the couch and keeping her up on her wobbly legs.  
Tilly rushed to her side and held her up just long enough to set her softly back down on the couch. “Woah there…” She glanced around and picked up the ice pack from the table. “You: put this back on that noggin of yours.” Tilly grinned and looked back towards the kitchen. “I’ll grab the drinks.” Knowing Margot would protest, Tilly shot up a hand and stuck out a finger, effectively silencing her. “I don’t want to hear it. You stay put. I don’t want to add any more injuries to the list.”  
Knowing Tilly wouldn’t take no for an answer, Margot sighed and defeatedly sunk into the couch. With one hand keeping the pack on her head and one hand nervously fiddling with a thread on her shirt, Margot watched as Tilly put the kettle on and rummaged through the cabinets for mugs. Margot hated receiving help, she hated feeling needy. But in all honesty, it felt really good having Tilly here. It felt…natural.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Sabine opened the swinging door and walked into the kitchen. The usually playful and bubbly Tilly was not found. In her place was a quiet and forlorn Tilly. A Tilly that Sabine had yet to meet.   
Wow, Roni was right. Something’s going on.  
She stood there for a few beats, taking in the sad sight before her eyes. She’d mentally prepared herself for an entirely different conversation today. One of excitement and juicy gossip about how her lovestruck coworkers had finally confessed their feelings. What she was seeing right now told a very different story. And she wasn’t sure how everything had gone so horribly wrong.  
“Tilly? Is everything okay?” Sabine cautiously stepped towards Tilly, who was slowly whisking a bowl of batter.  
Tilly looked up at Sabine and her eyes instantly started to water. She dropped the whisk and rushed into Sabine’s open arms, burying her face in the other girl’s shoulder.  
“Oh, Sabine.” Tilly gasped out. “I really, really made a mess of things this time…” She let out a heart-clenching sob as Sabine rubbed her back.  
Sabine felt her own heart break at Tilly’s words. She’d wait to get the full story. Right now, all she cared about was making sure Tilly was okay. Making sure Tilly felt better. And she would do whatever it took to get the playful, bubbly Tilly back.


	4. Chapter 4

Tilly grabbed the two steaming cups of tea and walked back to the couch where Margot was still patiently waiting. She set her cup down and handed Margot hers before plopping herself down on the couch, one leg under the other.   
Margot took a quick sip and smiled. Tilly had not only given Margot her favorite tea, and exactly how she liked it, but it was also in her favorite mug. The thought that Tilly probably knew her better than anyone else both thrilled her to no end and scared her to death at the same time. For a moment Margot sat there, thinking deeply about how very fast she had fallen for the golden-haired angel sitting next to her. How in a few short weeks, everything had changed. She had gone from spending her days care free, spending her free time with the small group of family and friends in town to spending almost half of that time with Tilly at work, and the other half thinking about or texting her.   
“Hey. You.” Margot snapped out of her thoughts as soon as Tilly began waving a hand in front of her face. She felt Tilly’s other hand wrapping around her shoulder, bringing them closer. “Where did you go?”  
Margot blinked a few times to clear her head before slowly moving her head to look into Tilly’s eyes. This close, they were almost nose to nose. Which brought a different kind of thought to Margot’s mind. It brought daydreams of inching closer and finding the courage to finally kiss Tilly.   
“I…”   
That is, if she wanted her to. Which Margot was not completely certain of yet. And that thought alone had seeded a doubt in her much larger than her confidence for weeks. Which is a rare occurrence for the bespectacled woman. Her usual levelheaded, confident façade had taken a sabbatical and it seemed like it wasn’t going to be returning any time soon. Margot had her fair share of budding romance with a number of women from her past. Their cues, their intent, was never in question. Then again, Margot never really saw herself with any of them long-term.   
Before speaking again, Tilly took the time to look deeply into Margot’s seafoam green eyes. There was a slight sparkle in them that Tilly only saw when they were close to each other. She watched as she sparkle quickly picked up speed and then just as quickly fizzled out. Before Tilly could give it any more thought, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. She looked up towards the cold pack still sitting tightly on Margot’s head. The bag of ice was now quickly becoming more liquified than frozen and the condensation had gathered enough to slowly drip down Margot’s face. A rather large drop clung to the skin on her forehead before inching down towards her eye. She watched as the drop rolled down to her left eyebrow before finding a home on her cheek.   
Tilly giggled and gently pulled Margot’s glasses down her nose and off of her face completely. After carefully setting them in her lap, she cradled Margot’s face in her hands. This was the closest they’d ever been, and the most contact they’d ever had. And it sent every single cell in Tilly’s body buzzing to life. She loved the feel of Margot’s soft skin below her hands. She loved that being this close meant she could see every single individual color that made up the beautiful green of her eyes. She loved smelling the woodsy aroma of Margot’s perfume mix with the mint tea they had been drinking. She loved everything about it.  
With careful but sure hands, Tilly gathered the water on her cheek and brushed it away with her thumb. When Margot finally got the courage to look at Tilly’s face, her heart almost stopped beating entirely. The big sapphire orbs of Tilly’s eyes displayed an emotion that Margot hadn’t seen before in them. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked like the was staring at her lips, while her own bottom lip was securely caught between her teeth. Margot knew the emotion playing out in Tilly’s eyes, and knew the subtle cues happening right in front of her. She knew what they meant. Usually. But at this very moment, her own self-doubt chalked them up to her own misunderstanding.  
Tilly looked up into Margot’s eyes and knew she had been caught staring. Her face heated instantly, and she was sure a strong blush had made its way to her cheeks. The butterflies in her stomach instantly released, sending out an embarrassed giggle from her mouth.   
“Sorry.” Tilly whispered. Her eyes darted around the flat, trying to look anywhere but at Margot. Margot let out her own nervous giggle as well. Soon, the entire apartment was filled with their laughter.   
As the laughter naturally died down, Margot could feel the dull ache in her head return. Her face must have betrayed her and led on that she was in pain, because Tilly’s laughter died as well, instantly.  
“Are you in pain?” Tilly tsk-ed at her own question and rolled her eyes. “Of course, you are. Silly me.” She stood up from the couch. “Sorry again.” Tilly held out her hand, her eyes on the cold pack on Margot’s head.  
Margot gave it to her while doing a little rolling of her eyes as well. “I told you, it’s fine. You don’t have to be sorry; it was an accident.” She let her eyes follow Tilly to the other side of the apartment. She emptied the water from the pack and padded her way to the ice chest to refill it. In the eight weeks they had known each other, there had been more than a handful of times where Tilly had surprised Margot. Not in the literal sense, but it seemed like Tilly knew exactly what she needed, sometimes even before she did. The small gestures made Margot swoon, which got her a lot of teasing from both her aunt and Sabine.   
Tilly glided back to the couch and gingerly set the pack on top of her head.   
“Aspirin.” She gestured behind her. “Washroom?”   
The smile on Margot’s face grew. Once again, Margot was awestruck by how well Tilly knew her needs without them being voiced. And in that moment, Margot knew she would never be happy just wondering if her feelings were one sided. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind whether she wanted to be with Tilly or not. And she wouldn’t be satisfied until she knew for sure that Tilly felt the same way. She had made her mind up. She was going to ask Tilly out. Out, out. On a real date. And she’d ask her tonight.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Margot shuffles into the back room, where Roni is currently taking inventory. She walked back here intending to talk to her about the night before. Now that she was actually here, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to actually say the words out loud.  
The long day at work ended in a headache. Literally. And the surprise of Tilly leading her into her own apartment. Followed by the closest thing she could call the complete comfort of another’s company. Only there wasn’t a happy ending. The night ended with Margot alone. And crying.  
Before she chickened out, Margot took one more step into the room. “She’s…um…” She cleared her throat as Roni turned her head, surprised to hear her niece’s voice. Margot hadn’t spoken the entire shift unless it was for a customer, and even then, only the necessities. Roni put the clipboard down, all focus now on Margot. “She’s not interested….in…in me.” Margot whispered, then looked down at her feet.  
Roni crossed the room and pulled Margot in for a hug. The warm embrace brought tears to Margot’s eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. She couldn’t stop replaying last night in her head, and every time she did it made her feel worse.   
“What happened?” Roni’s soothing voice called out. She was having trouble putting two and two together. Because from where she was standing the last few weeks, there was no way that she was misinterpreting either woman’s feelings for one another. And she certainly didn’t understand why Margot now believed, without a doubt, that Tilly wasn’t interested.   
Margot huffed, the warm air getting trapped between her mouth and Roni’s shoulder. Her words were muffled, but Roni understood them the same. “I was wrong. This whole time. I’m such an idiot.”   
The words coming out of her niece’s mouth gut her like a fish. If there was one thing that Margot had never had a shortage of, it was confidence. Margot was never one to shy away from playful flirting or a grand romantic gesture. She was always, as Margot liked to say herself, ‘the perfect gentleman’. The young woman in her arms right now seemed like a completely different person. Her usually cocky and courageous niece was torn apart with what she assumed was self-doubt either leading to or because of the events of last night.  
Roni grabbed hold of Margot’s arms and held her far enough away to look into her eyes. “Margot Rose West, you are not an idiot.” Margot opened her mouth to reply but was cut off. “And I am still very much unconvinced that she’s not interested. So, before I take a crazy guess, would you care to give me some details on what ACTUALLY happened last night?”  
The kind words brought a smile to Margot’s lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She knew Roni was right. She knew that she had to tell her aunt the whole story. Even though it hurt her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone care to guess what happened? :p


	5. Chapter 5

Margot watched Tilly pad into the bathroom and turn on the light. She began to think about how to bring up her feelings to Tilly. Subtly, just in case Tilly wasn’t even interested in her. But not so subtly, that Tilly didn’t even understand what she was doing. Then again, maybe she should just go for it. Just ask her out and be done with it. Rip off the band-aid, so to speak. She took another calming sip of tea while she heard Tilly open and close cabinet doors.  
Just as Margot was about to tell her exactly where she’d find the aspirin, a loud buzzing from the coffee table distracted her.  
“Tils, your phone’s ringing.” Margot watched the screen light up, showing off a stock image where a contact picture would be.  
From the bathroom, Tilly shouted “Can you answer it? It’s probably just my roommate asking where I am!”  
Thinking nothing of it, Margot grabbed Tilly’s phone from the table and slid the bar over on the screen to answer the call. Before speaking she thought she swore Tilly’s roommate’s name was Alex, not Ivy.  
“Tilly’s phone.” Margot cheerily answered.  
-Who is this?- The woman rudely replied.  
“Margot. I’m um, a friend of Tilly’s. You’re her roommate, right?”   
-Roommate? Definitely not.- The woman on the other end of the line chuckled. -Margot. I’ve heard a lot about you. Unfortunately.- The woman’s tone was really starting to bother Margot. And if she wasn’t Tilly’s roommate, then who was she?  
“Who is this?” Margot said, matching the other woman’s snotty question from earlier.  
-Ivy. Tilly’s girlfriend.- Margot could practically hear the other woman smile on the other end of the line.  
From the other side of the apartment, Tilly poked her head out into the hallway to glance at Margot. “Found them!” The smile on her face quickly faded when she took in the dumbstruck expression on Margot’s face.  
Margot looked up at Tilly, her heart in her throat, and replied to the woman on the phone. “Girlfriend?”  
Tilly rushed to Margot’s side and grabbed the phone from her hands. She tapped at the screen in a panic until the call was ended. The look of horror on Tilly’s face closely resembled the look on Margot’s face, just for a totally different reason.  
Tilly slowly sits down next to Margot, trying to gauge her reaction to what had just happened.   
This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go.  
“Girlfriend?” Margot repeats. She’s still looking forward, towards the doorway that Tilly had bolted from. A million little things were playing through her mind. Every single memory, every single moment that she and Tilly had spent together. Not one time does she remember her saying anything about a girlfriend. Not one time did Margot remember even hearing the name Ivy.   
-Ivy. Tilly’s girlfriend- The woman’s voice bounded like a speeding train through her mind. Bull-dozing everything that she had planned. Everything that she thought might have happened between them. It was all crushed by that one word. Girlfriend.   
Girlfriend.   
How could she have been so blind?  
“She’s not-…we’re not…” Tilly tentatively lays a hand on Margot’s shoulder to get her attention. “Margot…I can explain.”  
Margot lets out the breath she didn’t know she was holding. She leans back into the couch, farther from Tilly. Tilly’s hand drops from her shoulder. “You can explain?” She finally gathers the courage and looks towards the woman to her left. Tilly’s eyes are on the verge of flooding with tears, and the scared expression on her face doesn’t make Margot feel any better.  
“It’s not what it sounds like.” Tilly whispers.  
“Well, it sounds like you have a girlfriend. A girlfriend who’s name I haven’t even heard before tonight.” Margot spits out.  
Tilly goes to touch Margot again, but she shrinks against the couch. Tilly sits back again, wishing the last ten minutes never happened. “I swear to you, I didn’t lie. Ivy. She’s not. She’s not my-“  
Margot cuts her off with a sharp laugh. She stands up swiftly and takes a few steps before saying anything. “You know, I had finally worked up the courage to ask you out. I was still not sure if you liked me back, but I wanted to try.” Margot turned back towards Tilly. Tilly stared up at her from the couch, a single tear running down her face. Her expression had shifted into realization. “And now, I have my answer.” Margot said coldly. She squared her jaw and lifted her head. “So, I guess that it doesn’t matter anymore.” She turned away and started to walk towards her bedroom only to be stopped by the hand now clasping hers. Tilly turns her around and grabs both of her hands.   
“Please, Margot.” Her strained voice is laced with emotion. “Please let me explain everything.”  
Margot pulls out of Tilly’s grasp. “I think I’ve had enough answers for tonight.” She looks at Tilly, her own eyes swimming with tears. “I’m um, kind of tired.” Margot looks towards the front door. “You remember the way out, don’t you?” Without an answer back, Margot turns on her heels and heads into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Now seated on the stainless countertop in the kitchen, Sabine holds Tilly’s hand as she wipes away tears with the other.  
“So, this IVY person calls you when you’re at Margot’s, and claims to be your girlfriend.” Sabine says. She gazes at Tilly for a moment before going on. “But, she’s not your girlfriend, is she?”  
Tilly nods profusely. “She’s not. I swear she’s not.” Tilly looks towards Sabine with pleading eyes.  
Sabine squeezes her hand and smiles. “Hey. I believe you. I promise.”  
Tilly visibly relaxes a little. “Okay.”   
“So, who is she then?” Sabine gently mumbles.   
Tilly takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. “Ivy Bellfrey is my ex-girlfriend. We dated for seven months before I broke up with her.” Tilly opens her eyes and looks at Sabine. “We just.” She pauses for a moment, collecting her thoughts. “Ivy is lovely. We had loads of great times when we were together…But I just couldn’t see us together forever.” She looks down into her lap, one hand worrying the tissue in her hand. “I couldn’t see us getting married. Or buying a house. Or having kids.” She looks up at Sabine again. “She didn’t even want kids!”   
“But when I broke up with her. She freaked.” Tilly sniffled and wiped the stray tear away from her eye. “She’d call me every day. Text me nonstop. It went on for weeks before I finally confronted her.”  
“This Ivy. She’s in love with you?” Sabine said. Tilly nodded.   
She’s not the only one in love with you, Tilly. Sabine thought.  
“For a while, after I confronted her, she left me alone. Until I posted a picture of Margot and I at work.”  
Sabine nodded. She knew exactly which picture Tilly was talking about. She had taken it, after all. Margot was leaning on the counter, her head in her hands, staring at Tilly with a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. Tilly, with her back to the camera, looked sideways at Margot, visibly laughing at something sly Margot had just said. You’d have to literally be blind to not see the chemistry between them.   
“That night, Ivy called me and told me she would show up here and cause a scene in front of ‘my new girlfriend.’ And it scared me…” Tilly looked down into her lap again. “Ivy is a powerful business woman. I’m not sure what she’s capable of.”  
Sabine nodded. “You were protecting Margot. And Roni. The shop.”  
“Yea.” Tilly wiped away a tear. “I mean, I couldn’t just tell her there was nothing going on between Margot and I, could I? Because that’s not exactly true.”  
Sabine smiled sadly and bumped her shoulder with Tilly’s. “No. No, it’s not.”  
Tilly’s head shot up, surprised.   
Sabine snorted. “You really think Roni and I don’t know you two are smitten with each other?”  
Tilly opened her mouth to say something, then immediately closed it again. Speechless, she sat there staring at Sabine.   
Sabine chuckled for a moment before speaking. “We’ve been trying to figure out a way to set you two up for a while now, honestly…” This time, it was Sabine’s turn to look away from Tilly, her head down.   
For a long while, the room stayed silent. Sabine had begun to think that her confession had angered Tilly, but then, the room filled with Tilly’s laughter. Sabine looked over at Tilly, and shortly after, joined her.  
“Oh my gosh…” Tilly held her stomach, aching from the laughter. “So, this whole time, I could have just asked you if Margot liked me and, pretty much everything could have been avoided?” Tilly rolled her eyes.  
Sabine smiled at her. “Do you want my opinion?” Tilly nodded. “I don’t think it’s too late.”  
Tilly began to protest but was cut off. “I think that all of this can be undone. Everything that happened last night.”  
Tilly’s eyes began to water again. She knew that Sabine was probably right, but she hated getting her hopes up just in case she wasn’t. “Do you really think so?”  
“Yes. I do.” Sabine hopped off of the countertop and held out her hands for Tilly. “I think you should march back up those stairs right now and tell Margot the truth.” Tilly grabbed her hands and hopped off the counter as well. “I think that if she cares as much as I think she does, she’ll listen.” Sabine began to walk them through the kitchen and towards the staircase.  
“And what if she doesn’t?”  
Sabine stopped in her tracks, just steps before the kitchen door. “Then make her.” Sabine winked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter should be up later this week. :)


	6. Chapter 6

After Sabine’s last push to the stairs, Tilly found herself at the top. At Margot’s door.  
Sabine had sent her off with a reassuring pat on the back, but at this rate, she’d need about a hundred more before she’d feel any less nervous. Not only did she have to remind herself that her ex was a crazy psycho who wouldn’t leave her alone, but she’d have to hope that Margot would forgive her. She knew that she would hate the look on Margot’s face. Either way she thought about it, the expression would physically hurt to see. She would either be angry with her still, or she would be sad. She wasn’t sure which would hurt more.  
After collecting herself, she gently knocked at the door.  
After a moment of silence, she knocked a little louder. She heard footsteps towards the door and prepared herself for the worst.  
What she wasn’t expecting was Roni to answer the door.  
Roni eyed her with what was a confusing mix of anger and relief.  
“Can I help you?” She drawled out.  
White hot anxiety shot through Tilly, from her toes to her fingertips. Roni was very good at running her coffee shop, and was pretty lenient on her employees. She had always been very understanding when she was late, or needed the day off. But this was also her niece. Her niece was hurt and Tilly knew that she would do anything for her family.  
“He-hello Roni. I um..” She wrung her hands, and looked towards the floor before speaking up again. “I’ve come to-“  
“Tilly,” Roni put a finger under Tilly’s chin and lifted the young girls gaze towards her own. “I don’t think Margot was looking for any more company tonight.” She said tightly.  
Tilly nodded in understanding. She looked into Roni’s eyes again, and was met with the stern, protecting eyes of an aunt on a mission. “I know I’m probably the last person she wants to see right now, but I’d really like the chance to explain everything. I think that everything would be better if I could just talk to her.” Tilly doubled back, running her words together. “Thatisifshe’dletmeofcourse…”   
Roni gazed at Tilly for a long while, a hundred thoughts going through her mind. Her protectiveness of her niece was winning over the kicked puppy look on Tilly’s face. Margot had specifically asked her not to let anyone in unless it was her mother. But, in the end, she knew Margot deserved the truth, and she figured that Margot would end up thanking her for it in the end.   
Roni looked back towards the inside of the apartment. “Come with me.” She whispered.  
Tilly sheepishly stepped into the apartment and looked around. There was no sight of Margot. The apartment looked just as it had last night, only there was a pile of blankets on the couch, an assortment of snacks out on the table, along with a bottle of wine.   
“Who was at the door?” Margot yelled from her bedroom. When she didn’t get an answer, she walked down the hallway into the living room and froze as soon as her eyes landed on Tilly.  
Tilly watched Margot for a minute. She looked really cute in her oversized blue sweatshirt that hung off of one shoulder. The shirt was so large it almost completely covered the sleep shorts she was wearing. Her hair was braided into a long braid that was slung over one of her shoulders. And what Tilly noticed more than anything was the red splotches on her face. She had been crying. Recently.  
That fact sunk down in the pit of Tilly’s stomach, and made her insides ache. She knew that if Margot was crying, that it was all her fault. At that moment, she made a vow to herself that if Margot ever forgave her, she would spend as much time as possible making sure to never see her face like that again.  
Margot’s eyes widened and shot across the room to glare at Roni. She opened her mouth to say something.   
“Before you tell me off, I think that you should hear Tilly out.” Roni cut her off. Margot’s eyes flickered to Tilly’s but only for a brief second before glaring back into her aunts. “I know how upset you are right now. And I know you told me you needed some space, but I think that you should give her a chance to explain.” Roni looked over at Tilly as well. The penetrating gaze of them both felt very heavy, and it made Tilly want to crawl into a ball.   
After what felt like forever, a reply came. It was the most quiet, and shaky, and emotional Tilly had ever heard Margot’s voice.   
“Okay.”  
Tilly looked up at Roni, astonished. She must have looked very relieved, because the small smile that she returned gave Tilly the last push she needed to face Margot and tell her truth.  
Roni cleared her throat and grabbed her coat hanging by the door. “I’ll give you two some space…” She opened the door, blew a kiss to Margot, and then left.  
Even though she said okay, it didn’t really look like Margot wanted to talk. She was still standing in the middle of the room, with her arms crossed. She wouldn’t even look at Tilly.  
“Margot…” Tilly began. “Can we sit?” She gestured to the couch.  
Margot nodded, and without a word, plopped down on the couch next to the bundle of blankets.  
Tilly followed suit and sat at the opposite side of the couch. She eyed Margot for a moment before speaking up. “I came up here to talk. To-to tell you exactly what happened last night. And why.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t expect you to accept my apology. I just wanted you to know the truth.”   
“But I want to start out by saying I am sorry. I’m really sorry about last night.” Margot rolled her eyes. “You have every right to be angry with me. Because you don’t know the whole story.”   
Tilly swallowed the lump in her throat. “Ivy isn’t my girlfriend. She’s my ex.” Margot looked up at her, finally truly listening to what she had to say. “We’ve been split up for almost two months now. And almost every day since then, I’ve been bombarded with phone calls, voicemails, texts, emails, messages, you name it. All from her. Some nice…some not so nice. Begging, pleading, yelling, crying, screaming…” Tilly’s voice was becoming shaky and she could feel the stinging of tears welling in her eyes. “When I threatened her with a restraining order, she started to leave me alone.”  
Margot’s expression started to lose its edge. She wasn’t sure why she thought that Tilly would ever lie to her, but when she imagined her telling the truth, she wasn’t expecting this. That the truth hurt her far worse than the lie.  
“That is, until she saw the picture of us I posted on my Instagram.” Tilly sniffed back the emotions ready to spill from her face. “She freaked out. She threatened to come here, to the café, and make a scene. She’s got a lot of reach in this town, and her family has a lot of money. She said that she’d ruin my ‘new girlfriend’.” Tilly used her hands to quote.   
She looked up at Margot, her eyes pleading. “I’m not really sure what she’d do. And I didn’t want to take the chance that she’d hurt you. Or Roni. Or this place.” As the tears started to roll down Tilly’s cheeks, Margot’s eyes started to well with their own.   
“But I couldn’t tell her that there was nothing going on between us…not really.” Tilly wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Because even if we aren’t together, I wished we were. So, I told her the truth: you weren’t interested.”  
Margot’s eyes widened at that statement. She sat up, closer to Tilly and reached out her hand to hold the one on Tilly’s lap. She opened her mouth, but Tilly stopped her.  
“Please, let me finish…I talked with Sabine today, and she gave me some insight as to why you’d be so angry with me.”  
Margot’s eyes shot up from their joined hands. Her eyes narrowed and her face scrunched up, quizzically.   
Tilly worried her hands together in her lap. “Apparently both Sabine-and your aunt-have been secretly trying to set us up for weeks now, not to our knowledge.” She studied Margot’s face, looking for any sort of reaction to that statement. She was met with surprise and a little bit of anger.   
“And had I just talked with Sabine about my feelings, none of this would have happened.” Tilly let a sad giggle spill from her lips. “Like I said the other night, it’s not what it sounds like. It was all a misunderstanding. My fault. And I’m really sorry.”  
The silence stretched between the two, and Tilly was starting to get anxious. She glanced over at Margot, watching a slew of emotions play across her face. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.  
“So, let me get this straight…Ivy is your batshit crazy ex who’s stalking you, not your girlfriend?” Tilly nodded.  
“And she threatened me and my aunt and the shop to get revenge because she’s jealous?” Tilly nodded.  
“And I have had this, what I thought was one-sided, enormous crush on you for weeks?” Tilly smiled.  
“But its not one-sided?” Tilly nodded. “You like me?” The way that Margot asked that question made Tilly’s heart clench. She sounded to small. And the Margot that she knew wasn’t small. She was brave and proud and loud and courageous.   
She slid herself closer to Margot, pushing the blankets to the side.  
“Don’t you know?” Tilly cupped her cheeks and gazed into Margot’s eyes. “You’re the only one I want.” Tilly brought their faces closer until their lips met. And in that moment Tilly finally felt relief. Everything was on the table. The truth about her past. The truth about the other night. Both of their feelings had also been laid out, and it seemed like the odds were in both of their favor.  
Moments later, Tilly broke off the kiss, giving herself a moment to breathe. “Wow…”  
Margot nodded; her eyes still closed. Their faces were still just a breath away. She finally opened her eyes to the sight of Tilly’s striking blue eyes staring into hers. The wide smile on her face was so bright it was almost blinding. “That was way better than I’d imagined.”  
A giggle erupted from Tilly’s mouth as she looked down at her lap, a blush creeping across her face.   
A smirk plastered itself on Margot’s face as she watched Tilly.  
“But, just to be sure…I think we should try that again.” She brought Tilly’s lips towards her own once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think of me adding an epilogue? Or possibly a chapter with Ivy? Or both?   
Thoughts?!


End file.
